Man to stand trial in Canton shooting

Robert Sutton testified Wednesday he heard several shots even after he fell to the ground when he was wounded in the legs outside a Canton Township bar two months ago.

Tevin Rahmil Heyman, 20, whose last known address was 950 Addison St., Washington, was ordered to stand trial on charges he shot Sutton, of Washington, and his 34-year-old son, Akili Sutton, June 6 outside the Cozy Corner bar, 22 Euclid Ave. His co-defendant, Eric Johnson of Washington, had his case continued because his attorney was in a vehicle crash on the way to the hearing before District Judge David Mark.

Robert Sutton was shot twice in the left leg and once in the right leg. Akili Sutton was shot in the face, requiring his nose to be reconstructed by doctors. Both were hospitalized at UPMC, Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.

Robert Sutton said he had gone to the bar and an owner asked him to work as a bouncer. He was sitting inside the front door when his son asked him to come outside. He said his son had gotten into an argument with Windale Barfield. The elder Sutton said he was able to separate the two after his son hit the other man in the face.

“Eric Johnson sucker-punched Akili so I went after him,” Robert Sutton said, explaining his son was knocked unconscious. “Then shots started ringing out. I looked and saw who was shooting.”

Robert Sutton identified Heyman as the shooter. Sutton said he continued to hear shots, even after falling to the ground after he was shot.

Trooper Thomas Schuster, who filed the charges, said the shooting was caught on the bar’s video surveillance system. A computer expert for the state police was able to download the recording, however an attempt to show the recording in Mark’s chambers was not successful Wednesday.

Schuster said the video shows Akili Sutton in an altercation with Barfield. Akili Sutton starts to back up and is punched by Johnson, he added. Robert Sutton then goes after Johnson. Schuster said Heyman is seen raising up the gun and shooting the elder Sutton and then Akili Sutton. Heyman then fled the scene.

Several Washington police officers were able to identify Heyman by name after seeing the video, Schuster said.

Two women accused of assisting the pair after the shooting were also charged by state police. Taniesha L. Thomas, 21, of Washington, was ordered to stand trial on a charge of hindering apprehension after a June 19 preliminary hearing. Rebecca Lynn Kohn, 30, of Joffre, is awaiting a hearing next month on charges of hindering apprehension and false reports to police.

Heyman remains in Washington County Jail on $250,000 bond. Johnson, who also is in jail on $50,000 bond, is scheduled for a hearing Aug. 22 before Mark.